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NPL 2026

southmelb said:
Npl football is going to be a huge let down for us i think after what we've experienced the past 9 weeks, we just cant seem to gain any traction locally and it gets worse when the cooler months arrive.

Maybe it will be different next year if we keep the same team.
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I can see us taking the pro league more seriously then the npl
 
KostaV92 said:
I can see us taking the pro league more seriously then the npl
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Thats the problem, if we get slapped around by the npl teams the supporters will start to get agitated and not many will rock up to games.

The team we put together for the championship is a big reason why many jumped on board. Those little kids singing the Manny Aguek song are not going to be enticed if its Andrew Mesourouni leading the line whilst our stars are all over the oceania region.

Everyone got hooked after the Sydney Olympic game because they saw the quality we put on the field and it enticed them to come back, we cant just revert back to garbage.
 
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Glenardo said:
Do people feel like it’ll be a let down going back to regular npl again after starting to get used to quasi national football…maybe not for Sydney united who might enjoy the break from nswpol
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Nope.

Glad the NPL will be back next year.

The Championship was good, but for how long will the FA support it? I'd like to see the financials out of it.
 
Beretta said:
Nope.

Glad the NPL will be back next year.

The Championship was good, but for how long will the FA support it? I'd like to see the financials out of it.
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Would imagine the police bill and resulting reduction in crowd numbers would have changed the equation dramatically for united
 
Imo for some clubs aus championship and aus cup have shown that they’re built for playing at a national/the highest possible level and are capable of pulling crowds when they’re playing at that level that wouldn’t normally come out in the state league with a glass ceiling. Other clubs seem to have a culture where they’ll have the same numbers regardless of the comp they’re playing in, which ofcourse deserves respect. Not saying it’s good or bad, just the fact of the matter.

You wouldn’t get 2,000 to Marconi v a South Hobart type team in the state league for example, or 3,500 to Hellas v a Moreton city equivalent. But a Preston for instance got similar crowds to their npl games, likewise Sydney united v Bayswater in that first game before it all went south, was a comparable crowd to a bigger npl game for them
 
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southmelb said:
Thats the problem, if we get slapped around by the npl teams the supporters will start to get agitated and not many will rock up to games.

The team we put together for the championship is a big reason why many jumped on board. Those little kids singing the Manny Aguek song are not going to be enticed if its Andrew Mesourouni leading the line whilst our stars are all over the oceania region.

Everyone got hooked after the Sydney Olympic game because they saw the quality we put on the field and it enticed them to come back, we cant just revert back to garbage.
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I think everyone got hooked after the Olympic game because our latent fanbase, sadly, is now no different to an Aleague clubs big event theatre goers.

Yes we assembled a great squad, yes our football these past few months has far exceeded anything we have put on the pitch for the past 10 years but the only ones who appreciate the difference are us hardy few... The 2-3 extra thousand couldnt and wouldn't know the difference and I dont think would care...
 
Monoethnic Social Club said:
I think everyone got hooked after the Olympic game because our latent fanbase, sadly, is now no different to an Aleague clubs big event theatre goers.

Yes we assembled a great squad, yes our football these past few months has far exceeded anything we have put on the pitch for the past 10 years but the only ones who appreciate the difference are us hardy few... The 2-3 extra thousand couldnt and wouldn't know the difference and I dont think would care...
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That’s modern sport unfortunately, different times, it’s not like the 1960s where everyone would go to church in the morning and the game in the afternoon like clockwork. As much as we may long for the past football clubs are in the entertainment business and they have an ever increasing number of entertainment options to compete with for eyeballs
 
southmelb said:
Thats the problem, if we get slapped around by the npl teams the supporters will start to get agitated and not many will rock up to games.

The team we put together for the championship is a big reason why many jumped on board. Those little kids singing the Manny Aguek song are not going to be enticed if its Andrew Mesourouni leading the line whilst our stars are all over the oceania region.

Everyone got hooked after the Sydney Olympic game because they saw the quality we put on the field and it enticed them to come back, we cant just revert back to garbage.
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Monoethnic Social Club said:
I think everyone got hooked after the Olympic game because our latent fanbase, sadly, is now no different to an Aleague clubs big event theatre goers.

Yes we assembled a great squad, yes our football these past few months has far exceeded anything we have put on the pitch for the past 10 years but the only ones who appreciate the difference are us hardy few... The 2-3 extra thousand couldnt and wouldn't know the difference and I dont think would care...
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Whether we like it or not, but people have really latched onto the Australian Championship. They have seen South play attacking and attractive football on a national stage. Its live on SBS TV, and that helps drive engagement and interest.

The majority of our supporter base is not interested in watching our Esteban ugly tactics against Green Gully or St Albans. We had nearly 3K against Moreton City that no one had heard of before of this competition, and you'd be lucky to have 500 supporters against Green Gully on a wintery Friday night at Lakeside. I have to point out that summer and not being up against 50 other suburban Greek clubs does help boost crowd numbers.

That's the SM Hellas people want - on the national stage playing in summer against recognisable and good teams from across the country. That's why we need this competition to evolve into a home and away season within the next 2-3 years.
 
Glenardo said:
A bit of out of left field this but does anyone else find the “upgrade” of cb smith in Fawkner to have been a massive step backwards aside from the modernisation of the facilities. The old one was very similar in scale to Olympic village, now it’s basically a pavilion. Could have been made into a nice little ground
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Not just that @Glenardo, but they placed a light tower in front of the grandstand that obstructs the view of the pitch !
 
Glenardo said:
A bit of out of left field this but does anyone else find the “upgrade” of cb smith in Fawkner to have been a massive step backwards aside from the modernisation of the facilities. The old one was very similar in scale to Olympic village, now it’s basically a pavilion. Could have been made into a nice little ground
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Yeah its a shame to be honest. Though with so many teams using the ground as well its hard for anyone to make it home and potentially push to invest into the facilities
 
Glenardo said:
Bizzare, not sure what the thought process was
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Its called typical local council design by commitee... problems are tackled after they arise, lights were installed, then the design of the grandstand was laid, THEN the lights had to be modified to fit, looks like a Grade 6 kid did it in his back yard with a dad that has NEVER set foot inside a Bunnings.
 
SMFC1959 said:
Whether we like it or not, but people have really latched onto the Australian Championship. They have seen South play attacking and attractive football on a national stage. Its live on SBS TV, and that helps drive engagement and interest.

The majority of our supporter base is not interested in watching our Esteban ugly tactics against Green Gully or St Albans. We had nearly 3K against Moreton City that no one had heard of before of this competition, and you'd be lucky to have 500 supporters against Green Gully on a wintery Friday night at Lakeside. I have to point out that summer and not being up against 50 other suburban Greek clubs does help boost crowd numbers.

That's the SM Hellas people want - on the national stage playing in summer against recognisable and good teams from across the country. That's why we need this competition to evolve into a home and away season within the next 2-3 years.
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My contention is that we would have had the same turnout for the Olympic game regardless if we still had Esteban and again the same turnout for both the Heidelberg game and the final even if we still had Esteban and that 7 foot lazy arse Danish muppet from the start of the year...
 
Monoethnic Social Club said:
Its called typical local council design by commitee... problems are tackled after they arise, lights were installed, then the design of the grandstand was laid, THEN the lights had to be modified to fit, looks like a Grade 6 kid did it in his back yard with a dad that has NEVER set foot inside a Bunnings.
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But why did they get rid of a big grandstand and put up a tiny pavilion with some benches on it. Kinda reminds me of the treatment the former St George stadium at Barton park has recently received. Once you lose these kinds of facilities it’s very hard to get them back or replace them
 
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